It might have been just me but I always assumed clothes washed in hot water and detergent was enough to kill germs and bacteria. Well it turned out my assumption was wrong! Hot water and soap alone is not enough to kill germs and bacteria on clothing. Bleach on the other hand will but its not safe for clothes and cloth safe bleach is expensive especially when you do 14+ loads each week like I do. So I started looking in other things to add to the wash that aren't expensive and found three things: Peroxide, Vinegar and Baking Soda. I personally have not tried peroxide yet and have only used baking soda and vinegar. I also found how you separate clothing is also important. I use to throw like colors together in the wash and then towels and socks and undies together but when you think about what your most germest clothing is (socks and undies) you really don't those to be washed with the towels you dry yourself with AFTER you are already clean!??!?
So I came up with own laundry system! This is just what works for us and is just an example:
pinks/reds/oranges together with a 1/2 cup of baking soda
blue/purple/green together with a 1/2 cup of baking soda
browns/cream/yellow with a 1/2 cup of baking soda
jeans with a 1/2 cup of vinegar
whites with 1/2 cup baking soda
towels/sheets with a 1/2 cup baking soda
socks/undies with 1 cup vinegar
Joey's clothes/blankets/towels with 1 cup vinegar and I always wash his clothes alone so his germs don't spread to us and so other germs/bacteria don't spread to him.
I also do the socks/undies load LAST and when what I done I run a rinse cycle with 1/2 cup of bleach to kill any bacteria residual in the washing machine and wipe down the dryer with a Clorox wipe after the socks/undies load dries.
I don't have a specific day of the week for each load, just whenever the basket fills up!
Joey's occurrence of infection has really cut down since I started the new laundry system a few months ago.
You can also use a Chlorhexidine solution in the laundry as well. Just follow the instruction on the bottle. You can buy it in bulk cheaply at Tractor Supply ( or other farm and feed stores)
©Garrett's House 2021
